|Reuters

|Reuters

|Reuters

|Reuters

|Reuters

|Reuters

|Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's devolved governments should not undermine the country's negotiating position ahead of European Union exit talks by conducting their own discussions with the bloc, British Prime Minister Theresa May's spokeswoman said on Monday.

"We've been very clear that we should be working together to secure the best possible deal for the whole country and we expect representatives of the devolved administrations to act in that way and to in no way undermine the UK's position," the spokeswoman said.

She was responding to a question on whether the government would encourage Scottish ministers to hold their own talks with Brussels.

Speaking as May met leaders from the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the spokeswoman also said Britain needed to come up with a unified negotiating position and that it was vital to avoid erecting trade barriers within the United Kingdom.